Australian Women Pilots: Amazing True Stories of Women in the Air

by Kathy Mexted

There's a lot of aeroplanes and aviators down in that water. Thank God I'm not one of them. From pioneering and outback flights to delivering Spitfires or tackling the jungles of New Guinea, Australian Women Pilots tells of ten Australians with extraordinary stories. Women have been flying since the early days of aviation but, with a few notable exceptions, they have rarely been visible or well known. Kathy Mexted shares the feats of trailblazers like Nancy Bird Walton, Deborah Wardley, who was told by Ansett that women couldn't be pilots, and Gaby Kennard, the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world. Others are perhaps less known, but as pilots involved with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, the RAAF, aerial agriculture, or long-range ferrying, their stories are just as extraordinary. Packed with drama, adventure, and sometimes heartbreak, this riveting book is a salute to those women who refused to keep their feet on the ground.

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 12, 2021

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since it’s Anzac Day today, I’m sharing the story of Mardi (Margaret Helen) Gething (1920-2005), a WW2 ATA Ferry Pilot. Like my mother in the ATS, (Auxiliary Territorial Service) providing crucial and sometimes dangerous support to soldiers on the ground, women in the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) provided similarly crucial support to the male fighter pilots of WW2. They were a small band of women in a male-dominated role during that time who ferried the aircraft from the production line to the airfields from which the fighters were launched for battle.

Twenty-two years old, Mardi Gething was only 151 cm (5 feet) tall and she needed a booster cushion to reach the cockpit controls. But she had a B (commercial) licence and 194 flying hours when she enlisted in 1942. In her two years at ATA, she flew 600 hours in 26 different aircraft types, and — to the envy of every star-struck aviation enthusiast — she made 233 flights in the British hero, the cutting-edge Spitfire. She also flew the Hurricane, the Tempest, the Typhoon, the Mustang and the Blenheim Bomber.

Born in Melbourne in 1920, as a child Mardi begged her way onto joy flights above Essendon with her siblings but wasn’t able to take to the air as a pilot until 1939. She had graduated from Melbourne Girls Grammar in 1938 and set off for England on the SS Orford to do ‘the season’. While onboard she heard inspiring tales of derring-do from future husband Flight Lieutenant Richard Gething who at 27 years of age had just established a long-distance record flying from Egypt to Darwin. With war imminent, society plans were on hold and Mardi was reluctant to return home, but her parents were understandably anxious. However, with Nancy Bird Walton* reassuring them that it was okay for Mardi to stay in England, she took lessons at the Thanet Aero Club and flew solo after just seven flying hours.

Her parents, however, then intervened, and Mardi had to continue her flight training in California. She was home again in Melbourne by Christmas 1939, and old enough to qualify for her B licence. Whatever plans to help with the war effort from Australia she had, they were shelved by Richard’s proposal, and she married him back in Canada where he had been posted. Once he was posted back to the Air Ministry in London, Mardi was intent on joining the ATA. Her height didn’t meet the minimum, but when the need eclipsed the need for them to be tall, Mardi joined a team of about 60 women proving their worth to the war effort.

Whereas combat airmen were endorsed to fly only one type of aircraft, the ATA pilots had to be adaptable, flying many types of craft, often with no prior knowledge, let alone training. And Spitfires, I learned, had different variants, all with different instructions.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/04/25/a...

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an eye-opening book! I thought I worked in a male-dominated industry (information technology), but that has nothing on aviation in Australia. Some of the occurrences were just awe-inspiring to read about, and others were genuinely distressing. However, it was brilliant to read about these ten amazing women who have certainly changed the world for the better.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't need to have a particular interest in aviation to really enjoy this book. Kathy Mexted has compiled well-researched stories of ten awe-inspiring and intrepid Australian women from all aspects of life who follow their hearts and dreams to head to the skies. Some of the protagonists like Nancy Bird Walton, Deborah Wardley and Gaby Kennard may be familiar names but Kathy also champions pilots whom we may never have become aware of otherwise: Nicole Forrester and Georgia Maxwell, for example.
Each story is written in such an easy-to-read, engaging style; taking us on the women's respective journeys and pathways, which include drama, anguish, success and joy. Their bravery was profound for me.

[Vicki Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so easy to read, it was one of those “I can’t put it down, I just need to read another chapter/story”.
Kathy’s insight into speaking with the various pilots and then interpreting their voices onto paper resonated with me.
I am ordering a number of Kathy’s books and will give them to our friends who have daughters and encourage them to read over summer and then take it to their school library.
Thank you for capturing the tales of our Australian Women Pilots.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of aeroplanes and aviators down in that water. Thank God I'm not one of them.From pioneering and outback flights to delivering Spitfires or tackling the jungles of New Guinea, Australian Women Pilots tells of ten Australians with extraordinary stories.Women have been flying since the early days of aviation but, with a few notable exceptions, they have rarely been visible or well known. Kathy Mexted shares the feats of trailblazers like Nancy Bird Walton, Deborah Wardley, who was told by Ansett that women couldn't be pilots, and Gaby Kennard, the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world. Others are perhaps less known, but as pilots involved with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary, the RAAF, aerial agriculture or long-range ferrying, their stories are just as extraordinary.Packed with drama, adventure and sometimes heartbreak, this riveting book is a salute to those women who refused to keep their feet on the ground.Until 1927, it was not possible for an Australian woman to hold a pilot's licence and fly within Australia.Women had participated in gliding, or taken a licence overseas, but they had not been permitted to fly a plane under licence within Australia. The first Aero Club in Australia was established in 1915.Post WWI,and with the historic flights of Charles Kingsford Smith and Bert Hinkler, however, the Australian's public appetite for flying and air races was whetted. Pilots such as Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson, inspired Australian women to want to take to the air.Nancy-Bird Walton, was a pioneering Australian aviator and was the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association.Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry.Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys".At the close of the century, legal efforts to eliminate barriers of race and sexism in the aviation sector resulted in industry modifications in hiring practices.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, loved how each woman's story wasn't too long, kept me interested unlike sometimes when I get bored in biographies.

[Pam Ela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring stories. Aazing.

[Edwina Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second nonfiction book of my Covid lock-down reads. It presents the condensed careers of 10 Australian female pilots in roughly chronollogical order starting with Nancy Bird Walton, who pursued her passion for flying when the Australian aviation industry was still in its first few decades.

I found the second pilot, Mardi Gething's, story particularly fascinating as during WW2 she joined the British Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying many WW2 fighter aircraft around Britain.

Patricia Toole was a female pilot who worked delivering mail and cargo in the New Guinea highlands in the 1950s for a company that advertised "We Fly Anything, Any place, Any Time."

The story of Gaby Kennard - the first Australian woman to fly around the world in 1989 is also told, as is Lyn Gray who succesfully negotiated a terrifying emergency landing at sea.

Marion McCall twice won a dawn-to-dusk flying prize (accumulating the most flying miles in a set time period) and also became the Anglican Bishop of South Australia's pilot, flying him around his diocese. (The Bishop also happened to be her husband.)

While I hadn't heard of several of the women in the book (but relished reading their stories) I felt I was back in familiar territory with Deborah Lawrie who took Ansett Airlines to court in order to be able to work with them. The legal battle made the news at the time.

Nicole Forrester, a pilot who went from mustering cattle from the air to being a RAAF pilot, and Esther Veldstra, who was a pilot for the Flying Doctors finish off the book

The author of the book, Kathy Mexted, is a pilot herself who has gone to a lot of trouble to research her subject. Their stories are often enhanced by maps that greatly assisted this reader. There's also a photo spread in the centre of the book. It was an informative and entertaining read.

[KENNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant anthology of short biographies detailing the achievements, struggles and sheer persistence of women pioneering in the field of aviation. Exploring a different aspect of aviation in each story ranging from agricultural crop dusting to air force piloting, Kathy Mexted encompasses a varied and thoughtful perspective of the dreams of aspiring women aviators. Wonderfully structured in a chronological manner, Australian Women Pilots: Amazing true stories of women in the air details the advancements of the aviation industry from its rudimentary beginnings where landing in pastural fields was not uncommon, through to the formation of airlines and sophisticated organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctors Service. The incredible grit, determination and resilience embodied by each female pilot was truly amazing and encouraging. These true stories are proof that an aspiration and passion can be ultimately realised even in the midst of seemingly impossible challenges.

Next year I am excited to be studying to become a pilot. Reading this book was fantastic and gave me insight into the lives of pilots who never ignored their love of flight and kept their gaze skyward!

[LiteraryAviatrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection of the stories of ten Australian women pilots spanning the past hundred years written by a journalist and pilot. Kathy has done a beautiful job of sharing their adventures and their daring spirit. Anyone with any interest in aviation, or in reading the inspiring stories of brave, adventurous, pioneering women, will be inspired by these stories.

You can watch or listen to my interview with Kathy Mexted on the Aviatrix Book Review website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Aviatrix Book Review website.

[Bronwyn Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 10 stories in this book are all about women, but anyone with an interest in aviation should pick up this book. The stories are fascinating vignettes in flying across the last century, and cover different types of aviation, including crop dusting, military, airline and bush flying.

[Peter Langston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is a little uneven but the women you meet are fascinating.

[Merete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating book telling extraordinary stories about 10 Australians.

[Pauline Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoir and biography are not my favourite genre so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Well written stories of truly inspirational women.

[Kara Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

hard to put down , great tales of amazing women pilots